Thankfulness in tough times
Happy Thanksgiving Day to all who celebrate it in the U.S., and anyone else who needs a bit of cheer! These are tough times for many of us, for many reasons, but that makes it all the more important to celebrate love, community, courage, endurance, and whatever else continues to go right. Today, our three regular reviewers are taking the opportunity to share what makes them thankful and hopeful these days. Daniel Haeusser: Amid difficult times of stress and uncertainty, I am trying to find thankfulness in still being able to take part in things, and support, things that I find valuable for humanity and bring me joy, things like reading, writing, music, and service to organizations whose mission I value. As the world turns more to technology in favor of our brains, the human-made over the natural, and asocial interaction over actual connection, I’m thankful for the opportunity to still pursue alternatives to what I see as destructive. It becomes harder for me to lose all faith and succumb to despair when I become reminded of all that I do have, from basic needs of reliable food, water, and sanitation, to greater spoils available for entertainment and general enjoyment. In terms of genre, I’m particularly thankful these days for the many wonderful small, independent presses that just consistently put out amazing, interesting work, and of course the authors, illustrators, and many others that go into bringing those works to us. Trish Matson: I am thankful for my large and loving family; I realize that a lot of people aren’t as lucky as I am, to have been raised with kindness, generosity, love, laughter, and encouragement, and to still have a small safety net when some things have gone wrong in my life. Sure, there have been points of friction from time to time, but family ties can be wonderful. Found family is also a blessing, as are all types of love. I am incredibly thankful for all the love in my life and in the world.I am thankful for the education I received, not only for the good jobs that has helped me find in the past (and hopefully in the future), but also for how I learned to love the act of learning, and how much my knowledge base helps me to appreciate ingenuity and cultural connections wherever I encounter them. It makes me sad and frustrated when some people denigrate knowledge and education, but it gladdens me when I can share insights with other people and understand the points they’re making, and sometimes even help to elevate the discussions.I am thankful for the speculative fiction community. When people imagine different worlds and ways of life, they’re making room for their readers, viewers, players, and interacters to expand the possibilities here, now, and in the real, living future. I’ve seen some terrible, selfish, close-minded ways of being fans, but I have seen so many more people spreading appreciation, inspiration, and joy! I am thankful for this amazing universe. Truth can indeed be stranger than fiction, and far deeper and broader than our imaginations. I fear for the future of the Earth’s environment and climate, among other things, but I’m sure that if we can get enough people to understand the extraordinary gifts we’ve received just by existing here and now, we can come together, turn things around, and make things better. Paul Weimer: I am thankful for a person in my life. Sadly and tragically, circumstances mandate that I cannot name this wonderful person, but I want to acknowledge her existence and importance. She has lightened, gladdened, lifted and brought warmth and love to my heart. I adore her and I love her deeply and that love has been a balm, a source of strength, temperament and soul.I am thankful to the science fiction community who apparently decided, after the nonsense of last year, that I am good enough dammit, and so I won a Hugo Award. It still does not feel real, it feels like it happened to someone else, but there is photographic evidence of it, so it must have happened. I am thankful to all the people who nominated me, voted for me, and read and care about my genre work.I am thankful for the friends in my life. I don’t have much blood relations left who will talk to me—all I have is found family, and thus, friends. Their presence in my life should not be underestimated. Be they people I’ve driven hours to return a purse, or people on the other side of the world who kindly had me try vegemite with the best of intentions. I am thankful for all of them.Finally, I am thankful for everything that I have been able to see, photograph and visit. Not everyone has had the chances I have had, the adventures and misadventures I’ve had. I am lucky, very lucky and I should not underestimate or downplay that.
Book review: Blood of the Old Kings, by Sung-il Kim
At its heart, Blood of the Old Kings is a story about Empire, reactions and resistance to it. Our three protagonists are all in their own way taking up the mantle of resistance to that Empire.
Best of 2019 and Award Eligibility Post
2019: Umm, yeah. Let’s instead talk Award Eligibility first and then get to the best of 2019. I am eligible for BEST FAN WRITER, for my work at BN Sci Fi (now sadly closed) Tor.com, Skiffy and Fanty and Nerds of a Feather. I write and publish in a number of places, I do wonder sometimes that no one realizes my prolific output because it is all over the place. And of course, quantity does NOT have a quality all of its own. And there are people who do more, and are more. Me, I just plod along here. Anyway, besides blog posts, reviews and the like, I also do podcast like things. I am of course a central member of the Skiffy and Fanty Show, a central member of SFF Audio and also participate in Juliette Wade’s Dive Into Worldbuilding. All three of those are eligible in the BEST FANCAST category.
#Booktube – July 2019 Recap
Hello, Skiffy and Fanty fans! Somehow August happened while we weren’t looking, which means it’s time for you to catch up on our July #booktube episodes! First up, in our main episode we get a review of Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Calculating Stars and then Benjanun Sriduangkaew’s newest novella, And Shall Machines Surrender, then we dig into what we’re all reading and looking forward to, and finally, Shaun wraps up the month talking about the dreaded SUCK FAIRY!! Enjoy!
#Booktube – May 2019
Because it’s proving difficult for us to do this on a consistent basis, we’ll just be doing monthly wrap-ups! May was a bit light, as was everything around here, but hopefully you’ll enjoy some of the fun content we produced! We were super excited when we got to 100 subs last month because it means we now have a unique url for our Youtube channel! It’s Youtube.com/skiffyandfanty, so head on over there any time and subscribe if you haven’t already. Another way to make sure you don’t miss these is to sign up for our newsletter. These are in the order we posted them, not by show (because they do occasionally reference one another!)
Review: Civilization 6: Gathering Storm
The Aztecs are sorely pressing Sweden, having taken a number of their cities. Greece is exploring, sending caravels across the wide ocean and making contact with the Phoenicians at Ugarit. The Arab-Chinese war is turning hot again. And the Zulu have asked the Phoenicians to join them in a glorious war against the Dutch. The Phoenicians politely have refused. Wait! This is not the latest Alternate History novel from Harry Turtledove. This is my latest game session of Civilization 6 using the latest expansion, Gathering Storm. Civilization 6: Gathering Storm adds new a new gameplay format, civs, and mechanics to provide a Civilization game resonant with our climate change age.
